Amish Friendship Bread
This sweet bread was given to me by my sister. The recipe called for a large box of vanilla pudding, but I am not keen on cooking with such things so I went on a hunt for an alternative way to bake it (thank you to Mom’s Who Think).
Important Notes: Do not use a metal spoon or bowl. Do not refrigerate. As the batter rises and ferments, you may need to let some air out of the bag. You can freeze the starter at Day 1 in 1 cup measures for later use. Frozen starter will take at least 3 hours at room temperature to thaw before using.
How to Care for your Starter:
Day 1: Do nothing
Day 2-5: Mush the bag
Day 6: Add 1 c each: Milk, Flour and Sugar. Mush the bag
Day 7-9: Mush the bag
Day 10: Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Mush the bag. Place 1 cup each for two of your friends into a fresh bag and keep 1 cup for yourself. Give friends the instructions to care for the starter (Day 1-10) and the recipe for baking the bread (see below). Label your remaining starter with the date of the new Day 1 (very helpful!) and repeat.
Baking Instructions:
Combine the remaining cup (or so) of Amish Friendship Bread starter with the following ingredients in a large bowl:
- 1/3 cup oil and ½ cup applesauce (or 1 cup oil if you don’t care)
- 3 eggs (or 2 eggs and a flaxmeal substitute to keep the cholesterol down)
- 1 tsp. vanilla
In a separate bowl, mix together the following dry ingredients:
- 1 or 2 tsp cinnamon (per your taste)
- a pinch of clove and/or allspice (optional)
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 cup each: raisins, dates, nuts, etc (optional)
For a sweeter recipe: add ½c milk and 1 (5oz) box of instant vanilla pudding to the recipe above.
- Add dry to wet and beat by hand until well blended with a wooden spoon.
- Grease two loaf pans with butter, sprinkle with sugar instead of flour.
- Bake at 325 degrees F for 45 min to 1 hour. Cool 10 minutes, remove from pans. Serve warm or cold. Makes two loaves of Amish Friendship Bread (aka one to split in half and give away to your friends to try so they know what they’re getting themselves into!)
If you’d like to make your own starter, feel free to leave me a note and I’ll get back to you with the recipe, or you can easily find it online 🙂
